Business Council of Canada calls for a return to Canada-U.K. trade talks

Daniel Johnson , BNN Bloomberg 

Jan 26, 2024

The Business Council of Canada is calling for trade talks with the U.K. to resume after London suspended negotiations Thursday.

Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, said in a Friday statement that businesses in the U.K. and Canada have a mutual interest in the two countries resuming trade talks. 

“Businesses on both sides of the Atlantic need certainty, reliability and predictability,” Hyder said. 

When free trade talks initially began in March 2022, Hyder noted that his non-profit business leaders group highlighted the importance of improving relations with “reliable partners and longstanding allies such as the U.K. amid increasing global volatility and a shifting geopolitical environment.” 

“This is even more true today,” he said. 

The U.K. decided to pause negotiations just a few weeks before the next round of talks were expected to take place, with the possibility of a permanent trade deal. 

Mark Warner, an international trade and competition Lawyer at MAAW Law, said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg Friday that the pause in negotiations did not surprise him as starts and stops are common in Canadian trade negotiations. 

“I think largely the holdup is Canada doesn't really want to give up very much in terms of market access on cheese and the British are saying, ‘well, what do you want us to do?’” he said. 

Last month a special quota for U.K. cheese imports expired, which provided the same low-tariff access to Canadian markets that the European Union has. The measure had been introduced temporarily after Brexit.

Country-of-origin rules are also expected to expire at the end of March, which Canada decided not to extend. The move will likely result in increased prices of U.K. goods, including luxury cars. 

According to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), rules of origin are laws and regulations that identify where an imported product comes from. BDC said the rules differ between countries and are often related to free trade agreements. 

Trade Minister Mary Ng’s office said the move is the result of U.K. officials not offering something in return. 

With files from the Canadian Press 

Canadian energy producers dismayed by Biden's move to pause U.S. LNG approvals

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

Canada's energy industry is reacting with dismay to U.S. President Joe Biden's move to pause approvals of new liquefied natural gas export terminals in that country.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said it sees LNG as a lower-emission source of secure energy that can help countries get off coal. 

"LNG facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast are also offering Canadian producers an opportunity to export their natural gas globally," said CAPP president and CEO Lisa Baiton in an emailed statement on Friday.

"Given the highly integrated nature of the North American energy market, CAPP is disappointed in the White House decision."

Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge Inc. also expressed its displeasure with the decision. The company currently supplies natural gas to five operating LNG export facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast and has previously said it is interested in expanding its export strategy through further acquisitions in the region.

"Our immediate view is any delay in the development of U.S. liquified natural gas is a loss for the U.S., our Allies, for U.S. jobs and for efforts to cut emissions around the world," said Enbridge spokeswoman Gina Sutherland in an email.

Biden's election-year decision comes as gas shipments from the U.S. to Europe and Asia have soared since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. From having zero LNG export facilities a decade ago, the U.S. has grown to become the world's largest LNG exporter, averaging 20.4 billion cubic feet per day in the first half of 2023.

But a White House statement on Friday cited climate risk as the reason for pausing new LNG approvals, adding the current process the Energy Department uses to evaluate LNG projects doesn't adequately account for the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.

Canada does not yet have its own LNG export capacity. This country's first LNG export facility, being built near Kitimat, B.C., is not expected to become operational until later this year. 

But Heather Exner-Pirot, special advisor to the Business Council of Canada, said Friday's decision by the U.S. president is deeply concerning for the Canadian energy sector. 

"Your first instinct might be, maybe this is good for Canadian LNG, you know, because our main competitor is having its wings clipped," she said.

"But Canadian natural gas companies are so integrated with the North American market that there isn't really a separation. If it's bad for American energy, it's bad for Canadian natural gas producers and mid-stream companies."

The pause is not expected to immediately affect U.S. supplies to Europe or Asia, since seven LNG terminals are currently in operation, with several more expected to come online in the next few years.

But Exner-Pirot said she believes Europe, in particular, is likely very concerned with Friday's announcement as it had come to depend on the U.S. as a replacement source for Russian energy.  

She added Canadian natural gas companies should also be concerned about the way this decision effectively paints their product as an environmental "bogeyman."

"There's obviously a corner of the environmental activism world in the United States that doesn't like natural gas, doesn't like any fossil fuel, doesn't see it as a bridge to replace coal. And so those groups are very pleased today," she said.

LNG proponents have long said that replacing the use of coal globally with cleaner-burning natural gas will help the world in its battle against climate change. 

On Friday, LNG Canada's vice-president of corporate relations Teresa Waddington said greenhouse gas emissions from the Kitimat operation are expected to be lower than any facility of a similar size operating in the world today.

"Canada’s lower-carbon LNG will provide security of supply for global markets that can rely on our country’s natural gas reserves to advance their economies and reduce global GHG emissions," Waddington said in an email.

But critics say LNG is problematic for the climate in many ways.

"If you only consider emissions at the burner tip, then yes, natural gas is about half the emissions of coal," said David Hughes, president of Global Sustainability Research Inc.

"But if you consider the full life-cycle emissions of LNG, you've got the emissions from transporting it from B.C. to Asia, you've got emissions from the liquefaction process, you've got emissions from drilling and flaring and methane leakage across the entire value chain."

Hughes said building additional LNG capacity now essentially "locks in" greenhouse gas emissions for the long-term and will make it impossible for countries to meet their climate commitments in future.

"It's already a horror show from an environmental point of view because all of these existing projects were built with 30- or 40-year lifespans," he said.

Julia Levin, associate director with Environmental Defence, said countries agreed at the recent U.N. climate summit in Dubai on the need to transition away from fossil fuels. She said increasing LNG capacity does not fit with that vision.

"At COP28, countries sent a clear message that we're at the end of the fossil fuel era," Levin said. 

"President Biden's decision further drives the point home. Canada should follow."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2024.

Uber Canada rolls out changes for drivers, couriers two years after deal with union

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

Uber Canada is making several changes aimed at offering drivers and couriers more transparency about their earnings and better protection when they’re on the road.

The changes include a pilot rolling out later this year that will provide B.C. and Ontario drivers with more information, including the estimated fare and expected destination, before they accept a trip. 

The company is also aiming to protect drivers across the country by identifying consumers who falsely report incidents or poorly rate drivers based on traits beyond their control — mechanical issues or bad passenger behaviour — and ensuring those reviews and allegations are not considered in drivers’ ratings or account deactivations.

Further measures will see drivers in a pilot program granted the choice to record video of trips using their smartphone’s front-facing camera rather than just their dash cams and riders in another trial receive reminders through the app to buckle their seatbelts at the start of a trip. 

Brice Sopher, vice-president of Canadian couriers and drivers group Gig Workers United, said those earning money through the platform have qualms about some of the measures. They consider the changes "window dressing" meant to detract from how difficult it has become for workers to make money on the platform.

Couriers like Sopher, for example, got upfront fare and destination info before drivers and noticed their earnings dropping as soon as it was rolled out.

"It's harder than ever to earn a living wage," he said. "A lot of workers have or are leaving this industry because they're unable to earn enough to live."

The changes are the product of feedback Uber collected through a January 2022 agreement with private sector union United Food and Commercial Workers Canada. 

The partnership did not unionize the workers but allowed the union to provide representation to Canadian drivers and couriers if requested by the workers when facing account deactivations or other disputes with Uber.

Two years into the agreement, UFCW Canada has filed cases with Uber on behalf of 1,908 workers who have faced deactivation or other issues with their accounts. 

Over that time period, the union helped 310 workers regain access to Uber's platform and resolved 147 account-related issues, like instances when drivers thought they qualified for an incentive but didn't or had trouble accessing the airport for trips or uploading documents to the app.

But many Uber drivers and couriers are still unaware of the agreement. A December survey the company conducted in conjunction with Pollara Strategic Insights found 52 per cent of 2,010 drivers and couriers were aware of the agreement, without being provided additional information about the arrangement.

Once given information about the deal, 82 per cent of all Uber earners approved of it.

When the agreement was first signed, it had several critics, including drivers, couriers and gig economy experts. Some felt drivers and couriers weren't consulted enough before the deal was made.

Others felt the agreement was a way to placate UFCW Canada, which had complained in the past about couriers and drivers not being eligible for workers' compensation and other protections. The union also criticized Uber, saying drivers on the platform often spent more than 100 hours logged onto the app awaiting work weekly, leaving them paid well below minimum wage.

Uber drivers and couriers are considered by the company to be independent contractors because they can choose when, where and how often they work, but in exchange, they have no job security, vacation pay or other benefits. 

Uber and UFCW Canada have now banded together to push governments to adopt legislation for app-based workers, which would entitle them to at least 120 per cent of minimum wage during "engaged time" — time spent driving or delivering orders that excludes periods when workers are logged in and ready to accept work but not ferrying people or food around. 

"Half the time that workers spend out there is just waiting and would not be counted under this engaged time," Sopher said.

"So basically workers would only be paid 50 per cent for the work that they actually do."

Uber and UFCW Canada say workers who complete an average of at least 20 hours of engaged time per week should get access to a benefits fund that follows them across their work on multiple platforms. The more hours, the more benefits these workers should receive, Uber and UFCW Canada say.

To round out the legislative push, they are suggesting governments require app-based workers be entitled to occupational accident coverage that covers injuries sustained during engaged time and be able to join a union, which can engage in collective bargaining.

When Pollara and Uber showed Uber workers a detailed list of these demands, 79 per cent agreed with the slate, six per cent opposed it and 14 per cent were unsure.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2024.

 

Rogers Sugar reaches tentative deal with Vancouver refinery workers

The Canadian Press

A Rogers Sugar worker rides his bicycle near the refinery while on strike in Vancouver

, on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns)

Rogers Sugar Inc. says it has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing workers at its Vancouver refinery.

Details of the tentative deal were not immediately available.

The workers are represented by the Public and Private Workers of Canada.

The company says a ratification vote will be held next week.

The Vancouver refinery employs about 140 unionized workers.

The workers have been on strike since Sept. 28, 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2024.

 

Controversial Chinese Research Vessel Schedules Port Call in Maldives

Xaing Yang Hong 3 which is due in the Maldives has created controversies in Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the past (Bakamla file photo)

PUBLISHED JAN 26, 2024 8:47 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Tensions are being sparked in the Indian Ocean region with news that a Chinese marine research vessel, Xiang Yang Hong 03, will be making a visit to the Maldives starting next week. News of the visit has raised questions if the new president of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, is attempting to form closer ties with China and draw away from the relationship with India fostered by his predecessor.

The Chinese research vessel is part of an ongoing controversy across the region. Officially it is reported to be conducting distant water and deep sea surveys on behalf of China’s Pilot Ocean Laboratory. Built in 2016, the vessel is part of a fleet of ocean research vessels launched by China and since 2019 has been reported to be conducting scientific research. Analysts however note that China appears to be blurring the lines between scientific and military research.

Tracking services are reporting the vessel recently entered the Indian Ocean. They said it had transited the Sunda Strait in Indonesia and was heading toward the Maldives. The vessel which approximately is 4,800 tons had been said to be planning a stop in Sri Lanka around the beginning of the year. However, reports surfaced that Sri Lanka informed China it was imposing a one-year moratorium on Chinese research vessels from docking in the country’s ports.

Sri Lanka has been under pressure from the United States and India to curb the activities of the Chinese in the region. India has adamantly opposed the increase of activities by Chinese research vessels in all parts of the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives President just concluded a diplomatic visit with China reporting that they had reached terms on a broad range of agreements. This was followed by the announcement on January 23 that the Chinese government had requested the necessary clearances from the government of the Maldives for a port call by the Xiang Yang Hong 03. 

The vessel is officially reported to have the capabilities to conduct studies ranging from the salinity of the ocean to underwater mineral exploration, underwater and environmental studies. It is believed it is also used for mapping surveys. 

The government of the Maldives in December reported it would be terminating a hydrography agreement with India for the water of the Maldives. The official position is that the information belongs to the Maldives and they do not want to have international studies, but many questioned if it was another sign of a cooling of the relationship between the new government and India, which had been pursued by the previous president. The agreement with India requires six months’ notice for termination which is now scheduled for June 2024.

“The Maldives has always been a welcoming destination for vessels of friendly countries and continues to host both civilian and military vessels making port calls for peaceful purposes. Such port calls not only enhance bilateral ties between the Maldives and its partner countries, but also demonstrate the centuries old tradition of the Maldivian people welcoming vessels from friendly countries,” the government wrote in an official statement addressing the media reports over the arrival of the Chinese ship.

The government of the Maldives said the clearances sought were to make a port call for rotation of personnel and replenishment. They emphasized the vessel would not be conducting any research while in the Maldivian waters. The Xiang Yang Hong 03 is due to arrive in the capital of the country, Malé, on January 30. It is unclear how long it will be staying. 

 

Ørsted Cancels Maryland Power Agreement as it Reviews US Offshore Wind Plan

Orsted withdrew from its Maryland and New York power agreements seeking to rebid the projects (Orsted)

PUBLISHED JAN 26, 2024 2:29 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Ørsted is continuing with its efforts to realign its U.S. offshore wind portfolio while also taking steps to emphasize that it remains committed to the market and sees future opportunities. The U.S. division of the Danish offshore developer however announced that it has walked away from existing power agreements in New York and now Maryland positioning the projects for future offtake opportunities.

Plans for Skipjack Wind, a two-phase project with the potential for 966 MW of energy, were setback as the company reported it will withdraw from existing power agreements with the Maryland Public Service Commission agreed to in 2020 and 2021. The company said it determined that the payment amounts outlined in the orders “are no longer commercially viable,” while again citing market conditions, including inflation, high interest rates, and supply chain constraints.

According to Ørsted, the decision to withdraw from the orders with Maryland will “reposition Skipjack Wind for future offtake opportunities.” It is unclear then they might be able to rebid these projects.

Unlike its decision in November 2023 to end two New Jersey offshore wind projects, Ørsted intends to continue advancing development and permitting for the two phases of Skipjack. The company is submitting an updated Construction and Operations Plan for the wind farms to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for review.

The plan calls for Maryland’s first offshore wind farm to be built in two phases. The smaller, first phase was agreed upon in 2020 and would be located in an area approximately 13 to 21 miles off the Delmarva Peninsula. It would have a capacity for 120 MW while the second phase which was part of Maryland’s second solicitation in 2021 would have a capacity for 846 MW. The company in its plans said the project would require 69 turbine positions. They were planning on using the GE Haliade 14.7 MW turbine at the second site and the smaller 12 MW at the first site. They would stand approximately 550 feet from the waterline to the nacelle hub and the blades are approximately 300 feet in length.

“Today’s announcement affirms our commitment to developing value-creating projects and represents an opportunity to reposition Skipjack Wind, located in a strategically valuable federal lease area and with a state that is highly supportive of offshore wind, for future offtake opportunities,” said David Hardy, Group Executive Vice President and CEO Americas at Ørsted. “As we explore the best path forward for Skipjack Wind, we anticipate several opportunities and will evaluate each as it becomes available. We will continue to advance Skipjack Wind’s development milestones, including its Construction and Operations Plan.”

At the same time, they confirmed that yesterday they entered a new bid into the New York State solicitation for the Sunrise Wind project to be located east of Long Island. Ørsted had reported if the rebid is successful, it would take full control of the project acquiring the half interest currently held by Eversource. 

The companies emphasized that Sunrise Wind is the most developed proposal in New York’s pipeline and if they are successful in resetting the power agreement would be ready to move forward with construction on the project which would provide 924 MW. Calling it “ready to build,” they said Sunrise Wind is expected to be completed in 2026.

The rebid however is just one of several proposals submitted to New York yesterday with expectations that it would be a very competitive round. BP and Equinor reported yesterday that they were separating their interests in Beacon Wind and Empire Wind, two other projects in New York that are looking to reset their offtake agreements. Equinor confirmed it had submitted a proposal for Empire Wind 1 in the solicitation.

RWE and National Grid Ventures also reported that their joint venture Community Offshore Wind had submitted a proposal. It is for the second phase of the wind farm which would have a capacity of 1.3 GW. The first phase was selected in the previous third round solicitation. Combined the project has the potential for 3 GW the companies said is expected to be in operation by the end of 2030.

New York has promised a quick decision as it looks to expedite the next round of offshore wind power development.
 

 

UN Warns of Growing Threat to Global Trade Due to Convergence of Challenges

UNCTAD is raising the alarm on the disruptions the the Suez Canal and elsewhere in the world (SCA)

PUBLISHED JAN 26, 2024 6:47 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

UN officials are sounding the alarm on the growing global impact to trade from the mounting problems ranging from the Black Sea to the Suez and Panama Canals, and now the security problems in the Red Sea.  The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) issued a statement expressing its “profound concern” over the escalating disruptions in global trade, making its statement hours before a Houthis missile strike started a fire on a product tanker and set off new fears in the energy community.

“UNCTAD underscores the far-reaching economic implications of these disruptions,” the group said in its statement. “Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to these disruptions and UNCTAD remains vigilant in monitoring the evolving situation. The organization emphasizes the urgent need for swift adaptations from the shipping industry and robust international cooperation to navigate the rapid reshaping of global trade dynamics.”

The organization is seeking to highlight what it sees as the near “perfect storm” emerging in the growing disruptions around the globe. They point to the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine which is nearing its second anniversary saying it has triggered substantial shifts in oil and grain trades reshaping established trade patterns. They highlight that the war in Ukraine compounded with the new problems around the globe are “reverberating in global food prices.”

Added to the problems from the Black Sea, they point to the dramatic decline in transits at the Panama Canal due to climate change and the ongoing drought in Panama. They point out that daily transits are down by “a staggering 36 percent reduction” in December versus the year earlier.

“The crisis in the Red Sea, marked by Houthi-led attacks disrupting shipping routes, has added another layer of complexity,” UNCTAD writes.  The Chief of Trade Logistics at UNCTAD Jan Hoffmann told reporters it is having a “dramatic impact” severely disrupting shipping.

By UNCTAD’s calculations, containership transits are down 67 percent at the Suez Canal versus a year ago. Even before today’s Houthi attacks, UNCTAD warned the problem was expanding to tankers and gas shipments, which they said have stopped passing through the Suez Canal since January 16. UNCTAD estimates Suez Canal transits are down by 42 percent over the last two months.

UNCTAD underscores the critical role maritime transport plays as the backbone of international trade, responsible for over 80 percent of the global movement of goods saying the disruptions from the Red Sea plus the pre-existing disruptions to global trade caused by the war in Ukraine and the abnormally low water levels in the Panama Canal are combining to drive up prices and threaten trade. They use as examples the fact that average shipping costs from Shanghai have more than doubled since early December while those to Europe have more than tripled.  

They express concern that energy prices are witnessing a surge as gas transits are discontinued. They worry this is also directly impacting energy supplies, especially in Europe.

“The cumulative effect of these disruptions translates into extended cargo travel distances, escalating trade costs, and a surge in greenhouse gas emissions from shipping having to travel greater distances and at greater speed,” warns UNCTAD. 

They conclude that the current challenges underscore trade's vulnerability to geopolitical tensions and climate-related challenges, demanding collective efforts for sustainable solutions especially in support of countries more vulnerable to these shocks. 
 

Photos: Fire Aboard Tanker Hit by Houthi Missile

Fire was still burning on Saturday morning but later extinguished (Indian Navy)

PUBLISHED JAN 27, 2024 12:09 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

The fire aboard the Marshall Islands registered tanker Marlin Luanda caused by a Houthi missile strike is reported to be out and the vessel is proceeding to an unspecified safe harbor. Trafigura, who chartered the vessel, provided the update confirming that the crew of 23, including 22 Indians and one person from Bangladesh, is safe and dispelling multiple rumors circulating on the Internet.

“We would like to recognize the exceptional dedication and bravery of the ship’s master and crew who managed to control the fire in highly difficult circumstances, as well as the essential assistance provided by Indian, United States, and French Navy vessels to achieve this outcome,” the company wrote in its official statement.

 

 

The Marlin Luanda, a 110,000 dwt product tanker, appears to have been targeted twice by the Houthi on Friday, January 26 with reports earlier in the day that the vessel saw an explosion closer to the crude oil tanker Achilles, a 109,000 dwt, registered in Panama. Both vessels were southbound with the UK Maritime Trade Organizations reporting their position at approximately 60 nautical miles south of Aden, Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.

The Marlin Luanda was hit by a single anti-ship missile according to USCENTCOM at approximately 2000 local time last night, January 26. Trafigura reports that there was a fire in one cargo tank on the starboard side, confirmed by the photos released by the Indian and French navies. The French frigate Alsace, the INS Visakhapatnam, and the USS Carney, all responded to a call for assistance from the tanker.

 

France released photos showing the fire shortly after the missile strike (French forces in the United Arab Emirates)

 

Pictures appear to show that the crew attempted to use foam to stop the fire and were successful in containing it to a limited area of the vessel. The fire appears not to have spread, however it took approximately 20 hours to put it out. Unconfirmed reports are that the vessel is carrying a highly flammable cargo of Naphtha loaded in Russia. The vessel was displaying Singapore as its destination.

Trafigura reported that the company has no other vessels in the region and said it would “continue to assess carefully the risks involved in any voyage.” The Houthis’ in their statement boasting about the successful attack said it was because it was a British tanker. Databases list the vessel’s owner as Oceonix Services, headquartered in London.

Hours after the attack, U.S. Central Command reported that its forces had destroyed another Houthi missile on its launcher in Yemen. They reported that it was pointed at the Red Sea and prepared to launch when the U.S. struck.

Trafigura Tanker on Fire After Being Hit by Houthi Missile in Gulf of Aden

UKMTO places the attack 60 nm southwest of Aden, Yemen (UKMTO)

PUBLISHED JAN 26, 2024 1:47 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

A Houthi missile has struck a product tanker operated for Trafigura, the commodity trading firm with the company confirm the vessel is on fire. It is the second report of attacks by the rebel group against tankers today. UK Maritime Trade Organization also confirmed the reports saying assistance is being provided.

UK-based digital solutions provider Vanguard was first to report that the Marshall Islands-flagged Marlin Luanda was struck during the second attack. The vessel is a 110,000 dwt product tanker traveling from Morocco and reported having transited the Suez Canal last weekend. The AIS signal shows the vessel heading to Singapore. Unconfirmed reports are that the vessel was carrying a load of highly flammable naphtha loaded in Russia.

UK Maritime Trade Organizations confirmed that it received a report saying the vessel was on fire and requesting assistance. They put the location as 60 nautical miles southeast of Aden, Yemen, similar to the location of the first report of an explosion earlier in the day observed by the Marlin Luanda.

A spokesperson from Trafigura later confirmed to The Maritime Executive that the Marlin Luanda, a petroleum product tanker vessel operated on behalf of company, was struck by a missile as it transited the Red Sea. They reported that "Firefighting equipment on board is being deployed to suppress and control the fire caused in one cargo tank on the starboard side." The company said it remains in contact with the vessel and the top concern is the safety of the crew.  

The Houthi spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree also released a taped video statement in which he says, "Yemeni naval forces carried out a targeting operation on the British oil ship (Marlin Luanda) In the Gulf of Aden, using a number of appropriate naval missiles, the strike was direct, and resulted in the burning of the vessel. Yemeni Armed Forces persist with their military operations: enforcing a blockade on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian seas until a ceasefire is achieved in Gaza, and food and medicine are allowed in to the besieged Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."

The USS Carney as well as other coalition vessels were dispatched to provide assistance. U.S. Central Command is reporting that the vessel was struck by a single anti-ship missile. There are multiple unconfirmed reports and a broad range of purported photos (many clearly false) circulating on social media.

Earlier today it was the same vessel, the Marlin Luanda, that relayed information on the earlier attack. In the first instance, they reported an explosion in the air approximately 200 to 300 meters above the waterline of another tanker, the Panama-flagged Achilles. The explosion occurred about one nautical mile away from the tanker. The projectile did not make contact with either vessel, according to Vanguard. A French warship was reported to be patrolling in the area at the time.

The Achilles, a 109,000 dwt crude oil tanker, was also southbound in the Red Sea. The vessel's AIS signal shows that it was sailing from Primorsk, Russia, and displaying the message “No Link With Israel.” This tanker is reportedly under contract to an Indian shipper.

U.S. Central Command had also reported earlier on Friday shooting down a missile fired from Yemen that was heading toward the USS Carney. Early on Saturday local time, the U.S. reported it destroyed yet another missile on a launcher ready to be fire by the Houthis.

EURONAVFOR has been cautioning ships over the escalating attacks and saying the Houthis appeared to be threatening a broader array of ships beyond those with known ties to Israel, the U.S., or the UK. They also noted that the Houthis “might be capitalizing on outdated information regarding ship ownership in certain instances.”

Nazi death camp survivors mark anniversary of Auschwitz liberation on Holocaust Remembrance Day

A group of survivors of Nazi death camps marked the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp during World War II in a modest ceremony Saturday in southern Poland.

Issued on: 27/01/2024 - 

Holocaust survivors and relatives arrive at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland, January 27, 2024. 

© Czarek Sokolowski, AP

By: NEWS WIRES


About 20 survivors from various camps set up by Nazi Germany around Europe laid wreaths and flowers and lit candles at the Death Wall in Auschwitz.

Later, the group will hold prayers at the monument in Birkenau. They were memorializing around 1.1 million camp victims, mostly Jews. The memorial site and museum are located near the city of Oswiecim.

Nearly 6 million European Jews were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust — the mass murder of Jews and other groups before and during World War II.

Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the survivors will be accompanied by Polish Senate Speaker Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska, Culture Minister Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz and Israeli Ambassador Yacov Livne.

The theme of the observances is the human being, symbolized in simple, hand-drawn portraits. They are meant to stress that the horror of Auschwitz-Birkenau lies in the suffering of people held and killed there.

Holocaust victims were commemorated across Europe.

In Germany, where people put down flowers and lit candles at memorials for the victims of the Nazi terror, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that his country would continue to carry the responsibility for this “crime against humanity.”

He called on all citizens to defend Germany’s democracy and fight antisemitism, as the country marked the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

"Never again’ is every day,” Scholz said in his weekly video podcast. “Jan. 27 calls out to us: Stay visible! Stay audible! Against antisemitism, against racism, against misanthropy — and for our democracy.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country is fighting to repel Russia's full-scale invasion, posted an image of a Jewish menorah on X, formerly known as Twitter, to mark the remembrance day.

“Every new generation must learn the truth about the Holocaust. Human life must remain the highest value for all nations in the world," said Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and has lost relatives in the Holocaust.

"Eternal memory to all Holocaust victims!” Zelenskyy tweeted.

In Italy, Holocaust commemorations included a torchlit procession alongside official statements from top political leaders.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said that her conservative nationalist government was committed to eradicating antisemitism that she said had been “reinvigorated” amid the Israel-Hamas war. Meloni’s critics have long accused her and her Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots, of failing to sufficiently atone for its past.

Later Saturday, leftist movements planned a torchlit procession to remember all victims of the Holocaust — Jews but also Roma, gays and political dissidents who were deported or exterminated in Nazi camps.

Police were also on alert after pro-Palestinian activists indicated that they would ignore a police order and go ahead with a rally planned to coincide with the Holocaust commemorations. Italy’s Jewish community has complained that such protests have become occasions for the memory of the Holocaust to be co-opted by anti-Israel forces and used against Jews.

In Poland, a memorial ceremony with prayers was held Friday in Warsaw at the foot of the Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto, who fell fighting the Nazis in 1943.

Earlier in the week, the countries of the former Yugoslavia signed an agreement in Paris to jointly renovate Block 17 in the red-brick Auschwitz camp and install a permanent exhibition there in memory of around 20,000 people who were deported from their territories and brought to the block. Participating in the project will be Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.

The gate with "Arbeit macht frei" (Work sets you free) written across it is pictured at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp during events marking the 79th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Oswiecim, Poland on January 27, 2024. 

© Bartosz Siedlik, AFP

Preserving the camp, a notorious symbol of the horrors of the Holocaust, with its cruelly misleading “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Makes One Free”) gate, requires constant effort by historians and experts, and substantial funds.

The Nazis, who occupied Poland from 1939-1945, at first used old Austrian military barracks at Auschwitz as a concentration and death camp for Poland’s resistance fighters. In 1942, the wooden barracks, gas chambers and crematoria of Birkenau were added for the extermination of Europe's Jews, Roma and other nationals, as well as Russian prisoners of war.

Soviet Red Army troops liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau on Jan. 27, 1945, with about 7,000 prisoners there, children and those who were too weak to walk. The Germans had evacuated tens of thousands of other inmates on foot days earlier in what is now called the Death March, because many inmates died of exhaustion and cold in the sub-freezing temperatures.

Since 1979, the Auschwitz-Birkenau site has been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage.

(AP)

Tens of thousands of Germans mark Holocaust Memorial Day

Berlin (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Germans turned out across the country on Saturday to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, just days after a string of protests against right-wing extremists.


Issued on: 27/01/2024 - 

Holocaust Day, marking the Nazis' murder of six million Jews, falls on the date the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp was liberated  (ITS IN POLAND)

© BARTOSZ SIEDLIK / AFP

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who earlier this month joined a march against the far right, on Saturday welcomed what he said were "millions of fellow citizens marching in the streets" of Germany.

"Never again," Scholz vowed Saturday as police in the western city of Duesseldorf said about 100,000 people joined the peaceful protest there.

Demonstrations were planned in 300 towns and villages across the country this weekend, according to the alliance "Together against the extreme right".

In the northern city of Kiel, police said 11,500 people had gathered before midday.

"Democracy is not for the timid", read placards alongside others saying, "Red card for the AfD" party of the extreme right.

Physiotherapist Johannes Boecker, aged 29, told AFP, "It was important to demonstrate in memory of the victims of national socialism and also against the rise of the extreme right."

In Stuttgart, where a couple of thousand people gathered, 60-year-old Margrit Walter told AFP: "I want to create a Nazi-free zone for my grand-daughter."
'Never again is every day'

Scholz, who had turned out at a protest two weeks ago in Potsdam, close to the capital, said he was delighted to see people "stand up".

"Never again requires everybody's vigilance. Our democracy is not a gift from God, it is made by men," the chancellor said. "Never again is every day."

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius joined the protesters in his northwestern hometown of Osnabrueck, where he was born.

"There are three times as many demonstrations as last week, particularly in the east of Germany," said in a statement the citizen's alliance Campact, which is among the organisers of the protest movement.

It is in the east, formerly communist East Germany, where the AfD finds its biggest following.

Holocaust Day, commemorating the murder of six million Jews during World War Two, falls on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp by Soviet troops on January 27, 1945.

In Poland, site of the former camp, Auschwitz survivor Halina Birenbaum, aged 95, lamented anti-Jewish protests around the world and the "barbaric and long Russian attack against Ukraine... the barbaric terrorist attacks by Hamas and war on every side.

"For me it makes the Holocaust go on," she said.

In Germany, this year's 79th Holocaust anniversary came shortly after a report by investigative outlet Correctiv that revealed that AfD members had discussed the mass expulsion of immigrants and "non-assimilated citizens" at a November meeting with extremists.

The news sent shockwaves across Germany at a time when the AfD is soaring in opinion polls, just months ahead of three major regional elections in eastern Germany where their support is strongest.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser compared the extremist meeting on foreigners with the 1942 Wannsee conference when the Nazis plotted to exterminate European Jews.

© 2024 AFP